My dad says he lives thousands of miles from his family because he can’t afford a visa application to move to the UK.
Christopher Wade, from Ashington, Northumber, wants to bring his wife and two-year-old daughter from Canada. While the minor has a British passport, Mr Wade’s wife is required to pay an application fee and NHS charges of more than £4,500.
Mr Wade, a Supermarket Delivery Driver, and his wife applied for remission based on their inability to pay, but this was rejected.
Their lawyer Chris Boyle, who provides free advice, said the pair had been rejected. The home office said it did not comment on individual cases.
Mr Wade said the past three years had been a “huge struggle” and he had panic attacks due to being separated from his daughter Layla.
The child, born in Canada, has British citizenship.
“I feel like my mental health is constantly deteriorating and the reason why is because I’m constantly thinking about things like how much time I’m missing out on with my daughter,” she said.
Chris Wade said neither he nor his wife have the money to pay for the visa and NHS [Chris Wade]
Mr Wade met his wife Josianne Charlebois, a civil servant, in Canada and they married in 2022.
He planned to move across the Atlantic but, when he found out his wife was five months pregnant, the couple decided to stay in the UK where Mr Wade had an extended family network to help with family care.
However, due to the debts he had received earlier in his life, and the costs of DayCare, it is not possible for the couple to save the £1,9,938 required with the £2,588 of the NHS required for the NHS, it is said.
Mr Boyle, who works for the Charity North North East Law Centre, said he believed the couple had met the requirements for a Home Office pardon.
Guidance documents were said to be issued by those who “cannot pay the money”, he said.
The lawyer said the couple submitted 47 documents with a clear statement of their income and the money they did not have £4,526.
‘roller-coaster’
Ms Charlebois, who has no contact with her family, said she struggles with costs such as DayCare fees.
ALWAYS LALLA LAY BROKEN TO REVIVE THE WORK OF BROKEN TO BUILD TO BUILD THAT CHANGED HIS WORK.
“Mentally it’s been a roller-coaster,” she said.
He said he wanted to move to the UK to be closer to Mr Wade but also to have the support of his family.
Her husband said he did not move to Canada while the application was being processed as he needed to be brought to continue paying his debts and to be able to send money to his wife.
His job meant that it was difficult for him to get holidays to go see his daughter, he added.
“I mean we don’t even want to spend Christmas together,” she said. “I don’t know how long this has been going on.”
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